SCCER CREST TREES

Transition of regional energy systems

Switzerland is facing an energy transition, entailing a shift from centralized to decentralized power generation. With the simulation platform “TREES”, decentralization dynamics and value creation within the Swiss energy system are analyzed from a regional perspective.

This research stream has grown out of the SCCER CREST in 2014. For the analysis of socio-technical transitions, the technological innovation system perspective (TIS) and System Dynamics modelling is applied. Under the following link you will find a demonstrator of a simple version of the simulation platform TREES where you may create your own virtual scenarios experiments and test the outcome (in German): TREES Demonstrator (recommended browsers: Firefox or Chrome)

to advance the decision support tool for transition management of regional energy systems (TREES).

In order to achieve these goals it is studied,

which policies, institutions and firm strategies facilitate the integration of a larger share of "new" renewable into the Swiss energy system;

which regional and firm-level strategies support the diffusion of novel solutions, such as distributed generation, self-consumption, local and regional storage or regional load management, integrated energy systems as well as e-mobility;

which transition pathways of the Swiss energy system are consistent with planned policies and expected market developments such as the Digitalization of the Energy System.

The economic and ecological contribution regional development strategies and the specifics of contextual factors for the energy transition towards increased renewable energy are assessed.

The costs and impacts of the most promising system design (e.g. self-consumption communities with and without storage) and business models will be assessed with the simulation platform TREES applying virtual scenario and strategy experiments. Project specific case studies are conducted with practitioners in participative workshops, and the simulation tool is applied in demonstrators of technical SCCERs such as the Arbon Demonstrator or other projects as listed below.

TREES Factsheet and Links to Projects

Power AllianceThe main goal of the project is to foster field experience, stakeholder-acceptance, practicability and economic benefit of grid-oriented energy services solutions for future energy markets with increased decentralised production. To this end, we develop a regional load shaping mechanism that builds upon an already existing operative local peak shaving solution for industrial applications.

Arbon DemonstratorIn the framework of the Arbon demonstration project several technologies and methods in the area of “smart-grids” will be implemented. The goal of the project is not only to evaluate the technological possibilities, but also to investigate the economic conditions and business models that make the tested technologies financial attractive.